Courtney Hanny

Companies:
Brigham Young University, Provo; LDS Seminaries and Institutes; Health Catalyst; also projects for Thanksgiving Point and No More A Stranger Foundation

Job Titles:
Instructional Designer; Learning Engineer

Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
To make a long story short, I grew to love the field and the way instructional designers think. I like the interplay between designing with a wide, learner-centric view and then getting into the nitty-gritty details of development. I love being able to develop and use soft skills and technology/computer skills every day. I never have to shelf creativity or logical organization - they are both essential. I love being able to work with and pick the brains of subject matter experts across all domains and subjects. Mostly, I love learning and I love having a job where I have to learn something new every day and I get to help shape learning experiences that other people can enjoy.

What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles?
It depends on my current project. It can vary from designing and implementing live virtual soft skills training to developing asynchronous tool training. Other days I am running statistical tests on the data we collect from those trainings or creating reports of my findings from my analyses. I also work closely with a team of other learning engineers so I spend a good amount of time collaborating, reviewing, and brainstorming with them.

How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field?
Mostly through connections with IP&T faculty and alumni. I'm pretty new to the field, so most came from connections through the university. For example, one was an internship posted on the IP&T listserv. My current position was through asking an alumni for any connections he had.

In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career?
It gave me opportunities to practice in a realistic, mentored setting on real projects. I also gained a foundational understanding of processes and theories as they should be applied in an ideal setting, which has allowed me to apply them in the workforce with more consistency. It revamped my statistical experience, which has been a differentiator for me. Finally, I was able to identify and develop areas that were/are weaknesses in my own instructional design abilities (as well as areas that are my strengths) enabling me to continue to grow in the future.